Missiological significance of the book of jonah

Jonah, the reluctant missionary southern nazarene university. When god called jonah to go and warn the violent and godless ninevites of their impending doom, all his pride in being a hebrewand therefore uniquely favored by the almighty so he thought, no doubt along with many others of his nationrose up in rebellion. He went down to joppa and found a ship going to tarshish. Jonah, theology of jonah is a book that probes the perplexing question of why gods mercy is sometimes dispensed to people who do not seem to deserve it. Walton also reveals to us the significance of the authors intended purpose for including this incidence in the book. However, i would like to look at the text of jonah as both epistemological and missiological. Jonah is not the namesake of impaired wisdom or imperfect courage but of cowardice and resentment. Sharp, irony and meaning in the hebrew bible bloomington and indianapolis. Our interpretation, however, explains the plot, the characters, and the dialogue as embodying the primordial struggle between justice and mercy. Jonah, whose name means dove, lived in gathhepher, located just north of nazareth, during the reign of jeroboam ii in the.

See the discussion of the book of jonah regarding its historicity in. Many men behaved more admirably than jonah even within this short book, not to mention many more men and women throughout scripture. Avoiding the fierce punishment of the lord is not dependent on ethnicity, class, intelligence, skin color, or family history, but on repentance and faith. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. He was gods instrument to carry out gods will on earth. The book of jonah illustrates gods commissioning of jonah for a different type of engagement with nineveh, the capital city of the dominant assyrian empire. Again, what is meant by the story that a gourd sprang up above the head of jonah after he was vomited by the fish. To look for a nonbook abbreviation or glossary entry, go to the search form and follow. Summary of the book of jonah jonah s call arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. This old testament book describes at least part of the ministry of a prophet called jonah, the only prophet who attempted to run away from god.

Mckeowns insightful commentary will enable students, pastors, and laypeople to better understand the ancient book of ruth so that they can better apply its message and wisdom today. When these three perspectivesthe historical, theological, and literary significance of textsare applied to the book of jonah, various themes are centralized, such as the mercy of god and his desire to have his people serve as mediators of his grace. First, we should note that this marvelous narrative has suffered. This action teaches us that christians have a mission to preach gods grace to all nations. The book of jonah is a larger thanlife story of every individual who seeks closeness with god. That being said, with all accessible benefits made by the reformation, it is not without its faults. The reformation was a pivotal event that turned the tide of christian theology, socially and intellectually. Book of jonah lesson 1 welcome to the study of the book of jonah. Deliver me from negative selftalk expanded edition. When jonah ran from the call of god, one of the oddest events in the bible occurredthe story of jonah and the whale. Before reading this article, i must admit that my understanding of jonah has always been from a missiological perspective. Following the lead of the hebrew masoretic text, the title of the book is derived from the principal character, jonah.

Jonah or jonas ben amittai is a prophet in the hebrew bible from gathhepher of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. That being said, with all accessible benefits made by. The second mishnah in taanit, which recounts how the jewish people should observe fast days, quotes the deeds of the people of ninveh. It was the grace and mercy of god that was scandalous to him. The second mishnah in taanit, which recounts how the jewish people should observe fast days, quotes the. The god of heaven is a god of mercy to the penitent, yet a god of doom to the impenitent. What the book of acts is to the new testament, the prophecy of jonah is to the old testament. Book of jonah and its theological message 3748 words. Jonah and the worm makes these truths accessible to children of almost any age. Here jonah is given a clear mapping of his mission. He ignores a series of questions seeking to ascertain his nationality 1. He spoke of jonah s stay in the belly of the fish and contrasted the repentant ninevites with the unbelieving people of his own day matt 12. The story has a long interpretive history and has become well known through popular childrens stories. His discussion also touches on such related topics as universalism, feminist studies, and the missiological significance of the book of ruth.

There is no adequate reason to regard jonah as nonhistorical. Aug 11, 2009 but jonah arose to flee to tarshish from the presence of the lord. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. As a result of jonah s ministry to assyria, the assyrian captivity of israel was postponed over years. The foundational source for the book was likely jonah s own telling of the story after his return from nineveh. What jonah can teach us about gods sovereignty in missions.

He concludes that the message of jonah is a theological message. Jehovah looked down upon nineveh and observed the wickednessof these people jon. Jonah is a book that probes the perplexing question of why gods mercy is sometimes dispensed to people who do not seem to deserve it. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. The book of jonah preface those of you who are familiar with the story of jonah and the whale know that jonah hopped a ship heading in the opposite direction when god commanded him to go preach to the ninevites. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. However, the book of jonah portrays nineveh as a typological sodomlike citystate, not as the historical capital of assyria. Although the book is written in the third person, the traditional view is that jonah is the author of the book, and there is no persuasive reason to theorize about an unknown author. Certainly every one of us can see the importance of this quality of god, for every. The title of the book is the name of the main character, jonah. Jonahs prayer demonstrates that he found no offense in the thought of god justly punishing evildoers. Jonah and the impact it has on the christian church and our understanding of. The second rabbinic response is related to yom kippurs most profound theme.

A reading of the book of jonah within the postmodern epistemological frame not only demands from us the commitment to get rid of our prejudices and outlooks but also challenges us to introspect how we continue to engage in mission by constituting our identity and the identity of others. Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. There is a paradoxical recognition that the close r one comes to god, the more one becomes conscious of the chasm separating gods wisdom from our own. But jonah arose to flee to tarshish from the presence of the lord. Analysis of john waltons the object lesson on jonah. A good example is the prophet jonah, who depicts the tensi. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by god to travel to nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath. The senior pastors wife stopped by with books and a printed packet she had put together. This description of god goes back to yahwehs revelation of himself to. Analysis of john waltons the object lesson on jonah bartleby. Jan 02, 2020 jonahs story is told in the short just 48 verses but powerful book of jonah.

But the book of jonah is not the only old testament book in which he is mentioned. Despite its small size the book of jonah continues to attract scholarly interest, not least by virtue of its import for missiology. Studies in the literary techniques in the book of jonah sheffield. An insight into the prayer of jonah p in the quran the. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. The little book of jonah, one of the minor prophets of the old. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. The lesson of jonah reminds us that god is the god of all people. The story has a long interpretive history and has become well known. Despite its small size the book of jonah continues to attract scholarly interest, not. You will also remember how god provided jonah with a living submarine to get him back where he belonged. Blauw him self did not read jonah as a book with a missionary theme. The purpose of the book of jonah is much deeper and richer. The book of jonah highlights gods patience and loving kindness, and his willingness to give those who disobey him a second chance.

See the works mentioned in johannes blauw, the missionary nature of the church. Jonah, the book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Even the book of jonah has nothing to do with mission in the normal sense of the word. Jonahs name appears eighteen times in the book, but nobody elsenot even the king of nineveh is named. Most of us think about jonah as the guy who was swallowed by a big fish. Reading the book of jonah as a satirical challenge to theodicy of. God commands jonah to preach repentance to the ninevites, the perceived enemies of israel.

Mar 16, 2019 when jonah ran from the call of god, one of the oddest events in the bible occurredthe story of jonah and the whale. Based around 780 bc, the book of jonah is written during the time of reign of jeroboam 11. I would recommend this book to parents, children, and to anyone else interested in understanding what it means to be obedient to god. The book makes no direct claim regarding authorship. The central purpose of the book of jonah is to reveal the attributes of god. Engagement streams of our ma in contemporary missiology. The history and purpose of the book of jonah the language, style, and theology of the book of jonah suggest that it was most likely written between 450 and 300 bc. Now the word of the lord came unto jonah the son of amittai, saying, jonah dove, the son of.

The book of jonah stands as an important link in the prophetic chain, giving readers a glimpse of christs death and resurrection hundreds of years before they actually occurred. To those haitians i know, christian conversion does not mean simply improving on your understanding of god. It has been long established in missiological discussions that. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim in the hebrew bible. When the call of god came to him, jonah could not see beyond his own selfish desire for god to punish the assyrians. Towards and understanding of consciousness, daniel. The book of jonah has always featured in biblical studies of mission, sometimes as almost the only part of the old testament deemed to be of any relevance. Story and meaning of jonah and the whale is often mistaken. Jonah is viewed as myth, legend, parable, allegory and history. A survey of the biblical theology of mission grand rapids, mi. Jews regarded jonah as historical josephus antiquities ix, 10, 2. The book of jonah was likely written between 793 and 758 b. Nineveh, the city to which jonah was sent by god, was.

The book of jonah also teaches about the theological meaning of the sovereignty of gods mercy. It would be presumptuous to think that one could, in a brief article, speak the final word on the questions in debate. Most children raised in the church are not presented with missiological truths until they reach middle school. Jonah, gods objectionable mercy, and the way of wisdom the. Pdf on apr 5, 2008, daniel timmer published jonah and mission.

Additionally, there is no mention of israel or its king in the story. Aug 10, 2020 jonah points to jesus, but an argument that jesus is a better jonah would not stand up to intelligent discussion. What is important to note here is that the pastors did not hear these. The book of jonah as a comic novella, scrb 36 2006.

The book of jonah demonstrates that ancient peoples who were outside of that mosaic covenant relationship with jehovah were nonetheless accountable to heavens moral law. This opening sermon on a series in the book of jonah is. The book of jonah is a powerful little book that has much to teach the modern church of jesus christ. Jonah is the most widely known of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament. In reality, the book of jonah is about none of those things. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii but written in the postexilic some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc it tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. Thus opens nahums prophecy, and this is the message of this book of the bible for the world today. Delitzsch showed that the significance of jonahs story is. Missiological dichotomy, biblical theology, and the via tertia find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. What is the meaning of the story of jonah and the whale. Old testament materials like the story of jonah are well received partly because some of their elements are known from.

Date since jonah prophesied during the reign of jeroboam ii 782753. Read the full text of the book of jonah in hebrew and english here. Throughout the book, jonah is repeatedly referred to in the third person, causing some to search for. The vast majority of commentators and students of the book of jonah still adhere to one of the first three readings or some combination thereof see david kimhi on 1. Mike pettengill, missiology reflection sep 27, 2016. Lessons learned from the prophet jonah sampson independent. He went down to joppa and found a ship bound for tarshish. It shows that god has always had concern for the heathen, who are without hope apart from him. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. Landes, the kerygma of the book of jonah, interpretation 21 1967. Another look at the book of jonah, expt 88 1976, 8688.